Haines cross-country runners proved they are among the best in Southeast at recent meets in Juneau and Sitka.
Glacier Bear teams swept the small schools division at the Juneau Invitational Sept. 25, with freshman Ariel Long-Godinez and junior Luke Davis each placing first in their respective races.
Godinez-Long earned a personal best of 19:51 and Davis beat Petersburg’s Uriah Lucas by six seconds and placed fourth overall.
Davis said he’s been training to beat Lucas since last year. “I paced with him for the first four kilometers,” said Davis. “During the last kilometer of the race, I was able to pass him and beat him. It was exciting to beat him, since he beat me in the past two races.”
Senior Kaleb Jones and sophomore Leo Wald worked together throughout the race. Wald paced behind Jones, and Jones led him to a personal best of 17:55.
The boys’ beat Petersburg by 24 points.
Juneau also hosted a junior varsity race. Seven Haines athletes competed in this race. Freshman Phoenix Swaner led the team with a time of 21:20. Swaner placed 11th overall. Junior Koa Doddridge and freshman TJ Smith ran together, finishing within three seconds of each other. The junior varsity boys also placed first for their division.
The Southeast regional championship meet is Saturday in Ketchikan. The top 15 runners at regionals will qualify for state as individuals. The top two teams will also qualify for the state championship to be held at Bartlett High School in Anchorage on Oct. 9.
The girls’ team will have a chance to defend their Regional and State titles. The boys’ team will have a chance to defend their state title.
Godinez-Long also placed first in her division and fifth overall at the Sitka Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 18. She ran a time of 20:24. Godinez-Long led the girls’ team to first place.
The Sitka course consisted of three one-mile loops around Totem Park. After entering the trail, Godinez-Long’s shoe untied. Coach Jordan Baumgartner said Godinez-Long hollered at him that her shoe untied at the half-mile mark. “I asked her if she wanted to stop and knot it really quick,” said Baumgartner, “And she said ‘No, I don’t want to lose my pace!’”
Davis placed second with a time of 17:33, only three seconds behind Petersburg’s Lucas. Eighty-nine boys competed, and Davis found himself stuck behind most of them at the beginning of the race. At the quarter-mile mark, Davis was in 25th place. He worked his way up to the leaders to place fourth overall.
The boys’ team ran strong as a pack. Senior Logan Borcik, junior Phoenix Jacobson, and sophomore Griffin Culbeck continually traded places and worked together to pass multiple runners.
Culbeck led the pack in the first loop, followed by Borcik and Jacobson. In the second loop, Jacobson led. Culbeck pushed past Jacobson during the third loop and led the trio to the finish line.
The boys placed second for their division, 19 points behind Petersburg. Baumgartner said it’s going to be a tight regional race. “If our boys run smart races and improve as we have throughout the season, another regional title could be doable,” Baumgartener said.
Former assistant coach Alixanne Goodman visited the team on Friday, Sept.17. She brought eight pizzas to the harbor for the team and wished them luck before the race.
“It was great to see the team,” said Goodman, who now lives in Sitka. “I super stoked to learn they’re doing in-person meets again. The spirit of cross-country still runs strong.”